Has the JUUL trend become an epidemic?
By Peter Gagnon// Photography &Online Editor
When you hear the word JUUL, what comes to mind? Perhaps you see an initiative to fix the expensive and time-consuming commitment to cigarettes. Maybe you see the JUUL as an unfortunate way nicotine addictions have become more convenient for younger generations. Either way, most of us can agree that any sort of smoking is not good for a person. But is the JUUL the best alternative in comparison to cigarettes? If you haven’t read up on the perks and differences in vaporizers versus traditional tobacco cigarettes, you may be surprised at how different they are.
The inspiration for JUUL occurred when a New York cigarette ad aired which depicted former lung cancer patients breathing out of their necks. The mission of the company’s creation was to rehabilitate the way people smoke.
Each JUUL device contains a salt based nicotine e-liquid formula that goes through a quality controlled process to ensure no pod is different from another. The primary goal of the company is to help transfer traditional cigarette smokers from tobacco to vape liquid.
What’s in a pod? Well, pods contain propylene glycol and glycerine (30/60 mix), 3 or 5 percent nicotine, benzoic acid, and a variety of flavors for taste. The flavors include cool mint, Virginia tobacco, cool cucumber, mango, fruit medley, creme brule, menthol and classic tobacco.
The Campus Chronicle asked some students what they thought these ingredients were and, not to our surprise, a majority of them didn’t know.
“I don’t know, but I do know these are basically a bunch of different chemicals you probably shouldn’t be putting in your body in the first place,” says Jason Allickson, class of 2019. I agree with Allickson, but because of the way JUUL has revolutionized the smoking industry we also believe the JUUL devices should not be banned so quickly.
The device starts at the cost of $45 and has created an enormous job industry as a result of its popularity. Not only that but it also brings serious business to tobacco stores and vape shops. Pods can cost $20 give or take, depending on where you purchase them. These little squares are full of the JUUL juice which contain the different flavors.
People smoke for a variety of reasons, social situations, stress and anxiety. “Everywhere I go, someone always seems to have one, whether a social setting or public occasion,” says Julie Burkett, class of 2020.
Do you know anyone who smokes or who has formally smoked cigarettes? A majority of us probably do. The fact that vaporizers exist today is a significant advancement in technology; however, everything comes at a cost. On the plus side, JUUL has helped many individuals avoid the unfortunate fate of becoming addicted to traditional cigarettes. While the long-term effects of “JULL-ing” are still a mystery, what is clear is the serious health implications cigarettes cause such as lung cancer, throat cancer and even brain cancer. All of these are reasons enough to quit smoking cigarettes, but only time will tell if switching to a JUUL is the perfect alternative for them.
The picture above is mint JUUL pods, one of the most popular flavors. Photo by Peter Gagnon.